The present invention is an improvement over the screen tensioning and printing frame disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,293 dated Sept. 30, 1975. The present invention is directed to solution of the following problems associated with the frame disclosed in said patent. A wide range of fabrics must be utilized with thicknesses between 0.001 and 0.020 with thread counts varying from 12 to 500 per inch. In the median range of the fabrics that are utilized in the industry, the frame in said patent works satisfactorilly. With very thin or slippery fabric, there is a problem with the fabric slipping out of the locking groove when tension is applied to the fabric. With very coarse fabrics, there is a problem of trying to insert the locking strip into the locking groove. When the size of the groove was increased to accommodate the coarse fabrics, this aggravated the problem with respect to the thin fabrics.
A screen tensioning and printing frame should be capable of handling fabrics across the entire range. Thus, it would be impractical to have a frame which could only be used with thin fabrics or which could only be used with coarse fabrics. Efforts in order to solve the problem by increasing the size of the groove were unsuccessful.
Another problem associated with the frame disclosed in the above mentioned patent is the problem of obtaining uniform tension. Thus, the frame in the above mentioned patent lacks any visual or mechanical feature to facilitate assurance of proper tensioning and registration of the fabric with respect to the locking groove.
The present invention is based on recognition of the problems associated with the prior art and a solution of such problems.